Occupy Des Moines members protesting inside the Democratic Party offices were arrested Monday when they refused to leave.

Advertisement

Protesters said they are "refusing to leave until Obama vetoes the National Defense Authorization Act and starts putting all the power of his office to bear on putting communities before corporations and people before profits."

Iowa Democratic Party Executive Director Norm Sterzenbach released the following statement following the activity of protestors at the IDP headquarters:

We listened to their concerns and gave them an opportunity to express their opinion. While we recognize their right to lawful protests, an occupation of our office is not acceptable and only interferes with the work we do to elect Democrats and build a better future for Iowa and our nation. Its unfortunate that some members chose to face arrest, rather than leave as they were asked to do multiple times. We will continue to have an open dialogue with all Iowans concerned about the important issues facing us.

The Occupy movement had been camped outside the president's campaign office in Des Moines since Saturday, but around noon moved to the Democratic Party headquarters on Fleur Drive.

Occupiers said they want Obama to cut the U.S. military budget in half and "dismantle our U.S. military empire" to create jobs.

Occupiers said they want their voices heard and do not want to be ignored or marginalized.

"Had they spoke with us and gotten information from us and some sort of answers addressed, this could have been over a couple days ago. We are locked out of our president's headquarters," said protester Julie Brown.

The occupiers said they know they risk arrest by being at the office, but said they are determined to stay and be heard. In total, eight people were arrested at the Democratic offices.